“Maps and Postage Stamps,” an exhibit of highly unusual and innovative paintings and drawings created by the late, Turkish-born artist Ali Acerol, will open at Sharq Gallery in Pacific Palisades this Saturday, March 4, with a reception from 2 to 6 p.m. The public is invited.

Born in Bursa, Acerol was a graduate of CalArts who in the 1970s-1980s became a kind of legend in the Southern California art world for his stunning maps of countries and continents, his invented and satiric postage stamps, and his unwieldy and unique brick furniture.

This first posthumous exhibition of Acerol’s works is drawn prima- rily from the collection of Richard Hertz, author of two influential books on the local art scene: Jack Goldstein and the CalArts Mafia and The Beat and the Buzz: Inside the L.A. Art World.

The show includes Acerol’s magnificent 8-ft. by 12-ft. World Map, which has not been seen in public for over 30 years. Hertz will deliver an informal talk about the artist and his contributions at 4 p.m. on March 4.

Sharq (the “East”) has been operating as a nonprofit art space in the Palisades since 2004. Its many exhibitions, films, concerts and literary readings have largely, but not exclusively, been devoted to works by artists who are from or who deal in their works with the world of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

After the public reception, “Maps and Postage Stamps” may be viewed by appointment until March 11. To attend, you can learn the address of the gallery by contacting Sharq at sharqart@gmail.com or (310) 459-6041.